The present invention relates to orthopedic restraints and, in particular, to cervical collars.
Light weight, plastic cervical collars come in a variety of designs. Traditional two-piece collars of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,756,226 and 4,886,052 use semi-circular body halves to provide cervical support. Despite their acknowledged successful performance, such two-piece collars are considered less desirable than other cervical collars for certain uses. In particular, such collars are considered undesirable for use in emergency vehicles where their relative bulk makes them difficult to store and because of the difficulties that arise from trying to slip a semi-circular rear collar half beneath the neck of an accident victim at the same time the emergency care providers are trying to immobilize the victim.
A number of cervical collars have been designed to respond to this need. These include, for example, those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,413,619; 4,712,540; 4,987,891; 5,060,637; and 5,215,517. Such collars typically include front and rear body sections cut from a non-foam, relatively stiff, yet flexible plastic sheet. A hybrid cervical collar is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,553 and has also been designed to respond to this need. The disclosed two-piece collar includes separate front and rear body sections cut from stiff, flexible plastic sheets.
The above-described collars are typically provided with an integrally attached chin support. This integrally attached chin support is mechanically fastened to the front body section, joining it at the distal ends at the chin support. However, the chin supports on such collars are typically provided as a flat structure, and must be folded into a cup-shape and mechanically fastened at the central portion of the folded front body section. This is due to the flat, resiliently flexible plastic sheet construction of the front body section and the chin support. Thus, these flat cervical collars with their mechanically attached chin support all suffer from a number of draw backs, especially with respect to the chin support area. In addition, these cervical collars are fabricated from stiff, flexible plastic sheets requiring that the chin support be mechanically fastened to the front body section. This mechanical fastening results in inadequate chin support, lack of stability, and decreased reliability. Due to the fabrication process used for existing collars, there is inadequate support under the chin. This inadequate support causes the head of the wearer to slip from the chin support into the interior of the collar.
At least one cervical collar has been designed to respond to this need. U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,529 discloses a substantially flat, one-piece and/or hybrid two-piece cervical collar having a unitary and/or molded central chin support. This unitary chin support design greatly simplifies the manufacturing process, simplifies the number of parts required, and reduces the mechanical fastening between the chin support and the front body section. The elimination of this mechanical connection decreases the flexibility of the collar and increases the rigidity of the chin support and results in a more stabilized cervical spine region of the wearer. It also results in a more reliable collar because the mechanical connection, which is prone to failure, could potentially break during continual use and may fail and render the collar useless. Also, the elimination of the mechanical connection between the chin and the collar decreases the manufacturing cost associated with providing such a connection and the manual labor required to accomplish the fastening process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,529 also discloses, in FIG. 18, the use of a mandible support having a unitary chin cup is mechanically fastened to the front portion of the band of the collar. This embodiment of the ""529 patent shows that the improved unitary chin support and mandible can be used in conjunction with virtually any existing collar band design.
More recently, cervical collar manufacturers have begun to adopt the chin cup and mandible support design shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,529. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,315 shows a cervical collar having a mandible support with a unitarily molded chin support. The mandible support is connected at its wing portioned to the front of the neck band. This simplified mandible support allows the cervical collar shown the ""315 patent to be manufactured with a simplified design and lower construction cost and allows the collar to adopt the height-adjustment features of the prior art collars to produce a multiple-size collar. The multiple-size cervical collar of the ""315 patent offers multiple sizes in a single collar and provides adequate support to the mandible as a result of the adoption of the unitarily formed chin support taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,529.
Many prior cervical collars are known which include height-adjustment means for proper sizing of the collar. These include, for example, those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,728,054; 2,801,630; 2,911,970; 3,024,784; 3,285,244; 5,593,382; 3,916,885; and 3,060,930. Many of these collars employ height-adjustment means which are overly complex. Many of the designs include complex separately manufactured parts such as screws, bolts, pawls/ratchet teeth, snap connections, and hook and loop fasteners. Other height adjustment means, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,315 also suffer from similar deficiencies. For example, the cantilevered protrusion of the ""315 patent readily disengages from the complementary openings formed in the neck band when the collar is around the patient""s neck, resulting in a collar which is incapable of supporting the neck of the wearer. In addition, the adjustment means of the ""315 patent are spaced a significant distance from the center chin area of the collar and are located near the top edge of the collar, making adjustment of the collar on the patient""s neck relatively difficult. In addition, the adjustment means of the ""315 patent does not allow for ready adjustability the height of the collar since the made protrusion cannot be disengaged with the complementary hole under normal circumstances when the collar is around the patient""s neck, and must be removed from the neck to adjust the size thereof. Lastly, the height adjustment means of the ""315 patent requires a separate size indicating means which makes the sizing operation inconvenient.
Thus, there remains the need for a substantially flat, cervical collar having a height-adjustment means which is simple to use, does not require any complex manufacturing processes, does not readily disengage when the collar is bent around a patient""s neck, and which includes an indicator for accurately sizing the collar.
The invention relates to a cervical collar having a neckband, a mandible support and a locking means. The neckband is fabricated from a substantially incompressible plastic material and comprises a front body section having a first substantially flat shape and being bendable into a second substantially tubular shape, the front body section has a central portion, a laterally extending first side portion, and an opposed laterally extending second side portion. The mandible support is fabricated from a substantially incompressible plastic material comprising a centrally located chin support, a laterally extending first side portion, and an opposed laterally extending second side portion. The locking means includes a clip associated with the cervical collar which is moveable from a first unengaged position to a second engaged position in collaboration with a plurality of protrusions located on the cervical collar which define a plurality of predefined positions between the mandible support and the neckband.
The plurality of protrusions may be formed on a face of the neckband and the clip is associated with the mandible support.
The neckband may have indicia disposed on the collar which indicate each of a plurality of collar sizes.
The protrusions may be formed in a pair of parallel columns on the front face of the neckband.
The clip may include at least one leg which engages between the protrusions to prevent relative motion or movement between the mandible support and the neckband.
The clip further may include a second leg which cooperates with a track formed on the collar to press the mandible support against the neckband to form a frictional fit there between.
A plurality of serrations may be formed on the adjacent faces of the mandible support and the neckband which engage each other and enhance the frictional fit between the mandible support and the neckband.
The clip may include at least one leg having an end which simulates a pointed arrow.
The clip may include an actuator head for facilitating the grasping of the clip by a user.
The clip may be fabricated so as to transfer the load of the user""s chin on the mandible support to the neckband.